The Dallas Stars — a chic Cup contender pick after their ballyhooed offseason — are off to an 0-1-1 start to the year and, to hear head coach Lindy Ruff explain it, the lack of wins correlates to the play of their best players.

“I think our top guys have struggled, and it’s probably hurt us more than anything,” Ruff said following a 4-1 loss to Nashville over the weekend, per the Morning-News. “If they’re going well, we’re going to win. They’ve had a little bit of a tough preseason, and I think we’re seeing a little bit of that still now.”

Captain Jamie Benn is pointless thus far with a minus-3 rating. Same goes for Tyler Seguin (no points, minus-3). Top d-man Alex Goligoski is a team-worst minus-5, but it must be mentioned the trio wasn’t solely responsible for the lopsided nature of the Preds game; in fact, Benn and Seguin finished with positive possession metrics.